Green Hearts
by k-Liight
Summary: "Light." Ace's tone is more serious than I've ever heard it before. He might not always be the sharpest tool in the shed, but by the very unimpressed look on his face, I can tell there's no bullshitting my way out of this one. "Alright. You got me. I'm in love with Snake. There, I said it." (self-insert)
1. Chapter 1

**Look who's back on Fanfiction! lol, it's been a while, but I finally spit some writing out. to those of you not on DeviantArt or Tumblr, for the past few months I've been obsessed with G** **orillaz and, because of Ace joining the band, The Powerpuff Girls. specifically the Gangreen Gang. and then I ended up falling for Snake. so I wrote another self-insert fic because I'm trash :P small warning for swearing (mostly on my part) and some smoking (that's all on Ace lmao). this will likely be a two-shot, but hopefully someone can enjoy this first part for now!**

To say that Townsville is a weird city would be an understatement. What with all the crazy things in it—giant 80's-esque monsters, mutant animals, child superheroes, boys with green skin, even fashionable demons—this place was fucking _bizarre_. But I kind of like that about this city. It's definitely a lot more exciting than my former small-town home. Sure, the zany assortment of villains makes things a little dangerous, but hey, I need a little danger in my life. Besides, I don't have much to worry about with the Powerpuff Girls protecting the city.

Except, maybe, for the Puffs themselves getting on me for hanging out with the Gangreen Gang.

Yeah, a lot of people would say that I shouldn't be spending time with delinquents like them. But the guys of the Gangreen Gang were the first people to genuinely care about me as a person in a long time. And from what I got from interacting with them, the feeling was mutual. We've got more in common than I could've ever thought—we're all just lonely, misunderstood people who have been judged and outcasted just for being different. They've never really had any friends outside of each other, and me, well, every good friend I've ever had eventually cut me off. And besides, I never took part in any illegal activities with them. I just liked to hang out at their shack and eat pizza with them.

Which is what I'm getting ready to do right now. I already picked up the fresh hot pizza—I bought it with my own hard-earned money, mind you—and heading towards their dump hideout. Crazy thought, me hanging out with guys like them. I still remember the day we met. I was just sitting in the park with my headphones on, drawing like I always do and minding my own business, I turn my head away for two seconds to look at a pigeon and some snot-nosed kid decides to snatch my sketchbook from me. Of course, I took off running after the dumb brat, but I'm a terrible runner, so I basically had no hope of catching the little punk. That is, until we both came face-to-face with the green guys themselves. I basically stopped right when the kid did, but I was too shocked to snatch my sketchbook back from him. Green skin? Was something wrong with them?

"Well well well, what do we have here, boys?" Ace taunted, staring the child down.

"It ssseemsss we've gotsss a loner," Snake hissed mischievously.

"He's got a sketchbook, boss!" Arturo exclaimed, pointing at it. That made me finally snap out of my trance.

"Actually, that's _my_ sketchbook he's got," I interjected. "Can you give me that back now, kid?"

"Nuh-uh!" the kid teased, sticking his tongue out at me. "It's _my_ sketchbook!"

"No it isn't!" I yelled.

"Yes it is!" he yelled back. "My sketchbook! My drawings!"

"Art theft! Art theft!"

"Lemme see dat!" Ace finally cut our argument short by snatching the sketchbook away from the kid. The rest of the gang looked over his shoulders as he opened it up and skimmed through the pages. Their eyes widened.

"Oooooh!" Billy gasped.

"Ehh, no offense, kid, but these are way too good for someone your age to draw," Ace said. Grubber made one of his signature raspberry noises in response.

"I think the girl's telling the truth," Arturo agreed. The kid turned his nose up and hmphed.

"You're no fun!" he yelled. And with that, he stormed away.

"Eh he wasn't no fun either," Ace scoffed. I stood there, waiting for them to return my sketchbook to me, but instead they kept on looking through it. So, I thought I may as well make conversation.

"Hey uh, thanks for getting my sketchbook away from that kid for me," I said, scratching the back of my neck sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it," Ace deadpanned, not looking up from the pages.

"Thessse are really good," Snake said.

"Oh, uhh, thank you…" I shuffled my feet a bit. I wasn't used to people seeing my art like this.

"Thisss one'sss essspecially niccce." Snake pressed one of his long fingers against the page.

"Which one?" I came closer to the boys to see which drawing Snake was referring to. "Oh, that one?" I asked, upon discovering he was looking at a doodle of one of my fantasy characters. "Thanks."

"So how long you been doin' dis thing, anyway?" Ace asked.

"Oh, pfft, long time. Since like, seventh grade, I think." I have a terrible sense of time and my memory is even worse.

"Awesssome." Snake crossed his arms and smiled. I side-eyed them for a second or two before speaking up again.

"…So who are you guys, anyway?"

"Who are we?" Ace smirked and shoved my sketchbook into my arms, proudly pointing to himself. "We're the Gangreen Gang! I'm Ace, and that's Billy, Arturo, Grubber, and Snake." He pointed to the other guys respectively.

"Well uh, it's very nice to meet you all!" I smiled. "You can call me Light." I figured since most of them were using nicknames why not use mine? I held my hand out for Ace to shake, but he gave it a high-five instead.

"You ain't so bad, Light," he said. "Maybe we'll sees each otha' around sometime."

"Yeah, see you guys!" I said as they walked away. I didn't think I would ever actually see them again. But as it turned out, we couldn't stop running into each other. The bank, the mall, the town square, the supermarket—seemed like everywhere I went they were there too. Usually wreaking havoc, but that's beside the point. Every time, we would give each other a holler or chit-chat in the middle of whatever we were doing, until one day Ace invited me to their place. (Actually, it was Grubber that invited me, but Ace had to translate for me.) Of course, I couldn't say no to that. Then one visit turned to multiple visits, and before I knew it we were constantly hanging out. I found out very quickly that word gets around freakishly fast in Townsville, and soon enough everyone was talking about the Gangreen Gang's "little friend" (I am _not_ little, I'm 5'10"). So it didn't take very long for the Powerpuff Girls to find out about me, either. It took a lot of convincing to assure them that I wasn't a threat, but eventually they got the gist. They still kept a watchful eye on me, though.

In fact, they had their suspicions when I went to pick up this pizza. Those girls, they figured out that I only carry a pizza around like this when I'm going to visit the gang. I gotta give them credit for being so smart for their age. Soon enough, I notice the gang's little shack in sight. I quicken my pace, a little paranoid that the pizza already went cold, until I stop at the door. Since they're used to me by now, and my hands are too full to knock, I kick the door open with my foot.

"Special delivery!" I yell enthusiastically.

"Eyy, Light's here!" Arturo says.

"Pizza time!" Billy cheers.

The little shack is abuzz with excitement, which is nice to hear. Aw yeah, being friends with them is the best. There's just one little problem…

"Hey! How'sss it goin', Light?"

…A slithery little problem.

"Ooohhh, hey Snake!" I set the pizza box down, and everyone digs in. "It's going good. Same old same old." I can feel my face heating up already. Not good. Snake shuffles towards me and grabs a slice of pizza.

"Thanksss for getting the food," he says, leaning against the table. Grubber gives a raspberry while smiling and flashing a thumbs-up. I'm still not fluent in Grubber-speak, but that sounded like a "yeah, it's delicious!"

"Oh it's no problem," I say, taking a bite of my own slice. "And I love pizza as much as you guys so win-win!"

Snake chuckles a bit. Also not good. He slinks down in his seat, then flashes me a charming smile while patting the chair beside him.

"Sssit down."

"Eheh, well if everyone else is sitting…" I get down into the chair, even more flustered. Shit, we're close. I can really get a good look at his features from here. But before I can get into that, Ace plops down in the chair on the other side of me.

"Hey, Light!" He smiles with his arms wide.

"Ey yo Ace!" I give him a high-five, then another down low, then our hands interlock as if we're about to arm wrestle. It's kind of our secret handshake.

"What's up, man?" Ace asks, casually leaning back in his chair.

"Oh not a lot," I say, crossing my ankles. "Just hangin' around."

"Man nothin' ain't eva' up with you," Ace complains. "But boy, have we been havin' a hell of a time lately!"

He then gets into some long, drawn-out story about fighting the Puffs or whatever, but I space out for a second to glance at Snake out of the corner of my eye. Good, he's not looking. I turn my head a bit and dare to look at him a little more. He's staring straight ahead of him, giving me a good view of his profile. He's done with his pizza and now absentmindedly twirling a lock of his raven hair with a slender finger. His forked tongue pokes out from time to time, almost going past that long, pointy nose. His cheeks have a slight rosy tint, which stands out against the rest of his green complexion. His dark lips are parted just a bit. And oh man, his eyes. Those slanted, crimson eyes, wide and twinkling with ever-present curiosity and framed by long, dark eyelashes. A lot of people think he's funny-looking, but I find him rather alluring. Plus he's got that personality—so slick, so confident, and yet so adorable. He's a bad boy with a cutesy side. Hell, it's no wonder I fell for the guy. Every time I'm around him he pulls me into a trance without even trying and—

 _Snap snap!_

"Earth to Light, are ya listenin'?" Ace snaps me out of my daze, quite literally.

"Huh?" I pull myself away from Snake to face the rest of the gang.

"I'll take dat as a no." Ace facepalms.

"Pay attention, you dummy," Grubber spits out.

"I'm not a dummy," I huff at him, crossing my arms. I know exactly what _that_ raspberry meant.

"In her defenssse, I wasss a little ssspaccced out myssself," Snake admits.

"Oh really?" Ace raises an eyebrow.

"What about?" Arturo asks.

"I'sss dunno. Life ssstuff I guessss."

"Same," I casually remark, hoping to mask the real reason for my daze.

"Yeah right," Ace snickers. The rest of the gang, save for Snake, joins in. I glare at them. There's no way they know about my crush—right?!

"The hell are you guys on about?"

Billy giggles mischievously. Wait, Billy? Mischievous? Something's wrong.

"Heehee… you're in lo—"

"Quiet, you." Arturo cuts him off with a swift jab to his side. My stomach does about ten backflips. They _do_ know. Shit. I'm in trouble now.

"Whatever." I roll my eyes and grab another slice of pizza, but I don't know if I'll actually be able to eat it.

"You guysss are ssso weird." Snake reaches down and grabs a soda from who-knows-where.

"Right?" I smile. "And I thought _I_ was weird. Oh, could you get me one of them?"

"Sure." Snake's hair falls over his shoulders as he stretches down to get another soda. Oh man, that _hair_. His hair alone is enough to make me lose it. So long and sleek, and it swooshes so nicely—ahem. I need to stop _that_ train of thought before Ace snaps his fingers in my face again.

"Here yousss go." Snake sets the soda down in front of me. He smiles—it's just a little smile, but it's enough to make my heart skip a few beats.

"T-thanks…" I smile back, lifting the can with a shaky hand. God, when did it get _this_ bad? No wonder the rest of the guys knew. Then again, I shouldn't have been surprised; I've always made things so goddamn obvious. I just hope Snake himself doesn't see right through me.

"Well now what're we gonna do?" Arturo asks. Grubber spits out a response.

"No, Grubber, we'sss not playing poker," Snake counters.

"Actually," Ace begins, "before we's get started on anythin', I'm gonna talk ta Light for a sec."

I gulp down my sip of soda in mild surprise. "Okay?"

"Ooohhh, you're in trouble~" Arturo taunts.

"Shut up, shrimpy," I taunt back with a wink. He growls as Ace and I walk out the door.

Ace leads me about 20 or 30 feet away to a piece of concrete barrier that probably served a purpose at one point but was nothing more than a makeshift bench for the gang now. We sit down, him first and then me. He pulls out a cigarette from his pocket and lights it. I never bothered trying to talk him out of smoking. In fact, he would probably only smoke more just to spite me. He looks straight ahead of him, puffing out his smoke, then he turns to look at me with a small smirk, green eyes just barely peeking out from behind his sunglasses.

"I know yous got the hots for Snake," he says.

I immediately start coughing. I'm not even sure if I choked on air or if I'm just faking it out of nervousness. Fuck, I should've known that's what this was about.

"Wha—I, haha, you're nuts." I casually take a sip of my soda, trying to mask my embarrassment.

" _Light_." Ace's tone is more serious than I've ever heard it before. He might not always be the sharpest tool in the shed, but by the _very_ unimpressed look on his face, I can tell there's no bullshitting my way out of this one.

"Alright. You got me. I'm in love with Snake. There, I said it." I turn away from him and exhale sharply. "Fuck."

"Well now that that's been settled, I'm startin' ta get a little tired of waitin' for ya ta make a freakin' move already."

Wait, what?

"I'm sittin' the'e and you two are oglin' each otha' and there's all kinds'a tension but neitha' o' ya are doin' anything and I can't stand it anymore!

Hold up, is he suggesting that Snake could possibly like me back? No way.

"And he ain't gonna do nuttin' cuz he's too shy, so if you don't hurry up an' make a move I'm gonna do it for ya!"

Snake? Shy? How cute.

"Ya unde'stand, Light?" Ace's piercing eyes bore into my soul with a commanding look while cigarette smoke blows out of his nostrils. If I wasn't close friends with the guy, I'd be scared shitless.

"Y-yeah yeah, I understand completely. But jeez Ace, you're talking about the actual love of my life here. You know I have poor social skills, I have to muster up all my courage just to ask a stranger for directions! You think it's gonna be easy for me to confess my undying love to someone as amazing as Snake?!"

"Hey." Ace claps a hand on my shoulder, shaking me a bit. "I neva' sez it was gonna be easy. But anythin's easia' than sufferin', right?"

I chuckle. "I dunno man, I've been suffering in other areas for years already…"

"Well we's been sufferin' every goddamn day of our lives." He takes another drag at this statement. "But if there's anythin' we can do to take our minds off'a it, even for a bit, we's gonna do it. An' fo' what it's worth, we likes havin' ya around, so we wouldn't gets tired o' ya too soon if ya dated one o' us. Besides, Snake needs hisself a goilfriend."

He stands up, taking one last smoke before dropping the cigarette and stomping it out with his foot.

"Damn, who knew you of all people could be so inspirational?" I shoot him a smirk as I hoist my own ass off the slab. He makes a face as he lets everything he just said to me sink in.

"I sure as hell didn't."

There's a moment of silence, and then we both crack up laughing.

"Ace, ya goof…" I chuckle, holding my stomach a bit.

"Hey, I'm serious when I sez yous gotta go after Snake, got it?" He's still laughing too.

"Yeah yeah, I get'cha." I'm a little less nervous about the whole ordeal now, knowing that Ace pretty much spat all his advice out without really thinking. We head back to the shack, and enter to see pieces of the pizza box ripped and scattered all over the shack, with Snake and Grubber arm wrestling. Grubber has a look of concentration, while Snake's face just looks pained.

"Ow! Ssstop sssqueezing my hand ssso hard!"

Grubber scowls and spits out something—did he just call Snake a wimp?

"C'mon Snake, you can do it!" Arturo cheers.

"Yeah, go Snake!" I join in. Meanwhile Billy throws some the torn pieces of the box up in the air like confetti.

"I leave the shack for five minutes and _dis_ is what I come back to?" Ace flicks a falling piece of the box away from his face in annoyance. I watch as Snake struggles to overpower Grubber. They both have rather flimsy-looking arms, but Grubber admittedly has more visible muscle. His bicep bulges as Snake's arm shakes—jeez, I hope it doesn't snap in half. Suddenly, Grubber gains more strength and slams Snake's arm on the table.

"Wooooooo!" Billy cheers, stomping his feet and shaking the whole damn place.

"Way to go, Grubber," Arturo says, clapping slowly.

"Aww, good try Snake." I sit back down beside him as he shakes his hand.

"That wasss a bad idea. My wrissst isss gonna hurt for daysss now."

"Oh I'm sure you'll be alright soon," I assure him.

"Hey Snake?" Ace plops down in a chair next to me.

"Yesss?" Snake says, blinking those big red eyes. Ace slaps my back.

"Light here has somethin' ta ask ya."

"What?!" Goddammit Ace, why are you throwing me into this so soon?!

"I literally just told ya!"

"I didn't think you wanted me to do it right now!"

"What did you sssay to her?" Snake sternly asks, crossing his arms.

"Fine then, don't do it," Ace scoffs, turning his back to me and ignoring Snake's question. Snake raises one of his thick eyebrows.

"I am ssso confusssed…"

"Oh it's nothing," I lie. "He's just being an asshole." Well, _that_ part isn't exactly a lie.

"Typical." Snake giggles a little and rolls his eyes.

I hang out at the shack for about another hour or so, then I decide it's getting a little late. I grab one last soda for the road and make my way out the door.

"Seeya guys!" I say while smiling and waving my hand.

"Yer really gonna up and leave just like that?" Ace asks. He's glaring at me with an irritated expression. I feel my eyebrows curve upward.

"Ace…"

"C'mon now." He crosses his arms and taps his foot.

"Accce, quit ssscaring her," Snake scold, hands on his hips. "Look at her, she'sss shaking."

I am? Fuck, that's not good. I gotta get out of here. So I make a run for it.

When I'm outside of the dump, I stop to catch my breath. Way to go, me. I just made a goddamn fool out of myself. Snake was nice enough to stand up for me, and I didn't even say thanks? What an idiot I am. Ace was right. I should've just worked up the courage to ask him out right then and there when I had the chance.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's part two, just like I promised! yeah, three months later and I finally finish the second part lmao. More swearing ahead, just like in the first part, but no smoking this time (thanks Ace!)- however this IS ridiculously cheesy so beware of that LMAO. hope y'all enjoy this!**

 _Crash!_

"Gah! Son of a bitch!"

I rush to steady the stacks of Pringles that I stupidly crashed my shopping cart into. I thought I had control of this damn thing. Luckily, none of the Pringles fell over. I snatch a tin from the shelf and sigh deeply.

Ever since last night, I've been a frazzled mess. Why does Ace have to be so pushy? Now he's probably pissed at me, and the other guys likely wondering what the hell came over me. Am I ever gonna be able to even show my face around them again? Probably not.

Or maybe I'm just overreacting. Ace was probably just trying to help me. Well doesn't that make me look like a jackass.

"Light!"

"Huh?" I look around and see a small green figure running towards me. It's Arturo.

"There you are!" he cries out as he approaches me. "I've been looking all over for you!" He puts his hands against his head, making him look stressed out. "Ay caramba, what are you _wearing_?!"

I glance down at my usual ratty jeans and t-shirt ensemble, then not as far down at Arturo. "What do you mean, what am I wearing? What's going on?"

"No time for that now!" He grabs my arm and yanks me from my shopping cart, running towards the exit. Damn, for someone with such tiny little legs, he sure can run fast. He must've had a _lot_ of coffee this morning. Before I know it, we're out the door and running down the street.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask.

"To where you're _supposed_ to be!" Arturo answers. What? The hell is that supposed to mean? I'm so confused. I'm about to open my mouth again when Arturo suddenly stops and pulls me down.

"Wait a second—I have _got_ to do something about that _hair_."

He takes out his treasured comb and runs it through my hair. His little fingers assist him, flattening my hair in places and fluffing it up in others. Geez, my hair is short, there can't be too much wrong with it. With a final tease to the back, he pulls away.

"There. Much more presentable." He smiles for a bit, admiring his handywork, then whisks me away again. "Now come on, you're late!"

"Late?!" I squawk. "Late for _what_?!"

"Your date! You're late for your date!"

" _DATE?!_ What the _fuck_ are you talking about?!"

Before I can figure out what the hell kind of stunt Arturo's trying to pull, he finally comes to a halt in front of a cute little 50's-looking diner. I see Ace, Billy, and Grubber sitting at one of the patio tables outside the diner. Arturo finally lets me go and makes his way to the others. But where's Snake?

"I've got her!" Arturo says, making his way to the other three. Ace stands up.

"About time! What da hell took yous so long?"

"Hey, I can only go so fast!" Arturo whines. I roll my eyes. I'm calling bullshit on that one.

"Okay, I'm here now, now can one of you idiots _please_ tell me what the hell is going on?!"

Ace stands up, and dramatically points to the large restaurant window.

"Snake has been waitin' in there for yous all by hisself for _fifteen_ minutes now!"

"Wha—"

I cut myself off when I see Snake sitting at one of the little tables inside the diner. One of his arms rests on the table, and his legs are crossed. He's absentmindedly playing with his hair again. His usual tanktop and shorts ensemble has been swapped for a cute turquoise off-shouldered top and a black skirt. His expression looks dazed, but with a twinge of something else… sadness? Worry? Restlessness? As if he's expecting something major to happen. He looks so quaint sitting there, all dolled up. And then it hits me.

"You—" the realization leaves me gasping for air— "you guys set me up on a date with _Snake_?!"

"Ey, didn't I tell yous that if ya didn't make a move I was gonna do it for yous?" Ace puts his hands on his hips. I remember fully well that he said that, but I didn't think he would actually go through with it, let alone so soon!

"Wh-what do I do?! I'm not prepared for this!" I grab my hair out of nervousness."Hey!" Arturo yells. "I just fixed that!"

"What you _need_ to do is just go in dere and be yourself," Ace says. "The last thing yous wanna do is panic."

"Dah—Snake will be happy to see you!" Billy beams.

"That's right!" Grubber raspberries.

"Oh, by the way, you left your nice jacket at our place last night," Arturo says. "It might come in handy right now." He holds up my black motorcycle jacket. Shit, I forgot all about that thing.

"Haha, thanks guys." I take the jacket and put it on. I take a quick glance at myself in the reflection on the window. I'm no Danny Zuko, but it'll have to do.

"Now go on," Ace says. "Your date awaits." He gestures to Snake inside the diner. "Go get 'im." He claps my shoulder and pushes me toward the door.

"Good luck!" Billy yells.

I give an awkward wave to the rest of the gang, unable to say much more at this point. Oh god, I'm really doing this. I'm going on an impromptu date with Snake. Holy shit. I peer at him through the glass door and swallow the lump in my throat.

With a final burst of confidence, I push through the door and make my way to Snake's table.

Snake's head shoots up as he sees me enter. A wide, adorable smile breaks across his face. There's no way he can be looking at _me_ like that.

"Light! You'sss finally here!"

"Yeah sorry, I kinda didn't know we were doing this until like five seconds ago, pardon me…" I chuckle nervously as I pull into the chair across from him.

"I wasss waiting for you~." Snake smirks, resting his chin on his interlocked fingers and gazing into my soul with half-lidded eyes. God, he's gorgeous. I tug at my shirt collar. Fuck, we just started and I'm already losing it, how am I supposed to keep my cool for an entire date with this creature?

"Haha… sorry to keep you waiting for so long…"

"It'sss alright." Snake's smile looks a bit less mischievous now. "Thisss whole thing wasss a little lassst-minute for me too."

"At least Ace gave you time to pick a freaking outfit."

Snake drops his composure and falls into hissy laughter.

"Yesss, it doesssn't look like he gave you nearly asss much time, no offenssse."

"None taken. He literally had Arturo drag me out of the supermarket and fix my hair on the way here."

"Really?" Snake giggles again. His laugh is so adorable, what the hell.

"Really. Luckily my sweet-ass jacket here makes up for my otherwise shitty presentation." I smirk, or attempt one at least, pointing at my jacket.

"It really isss a niccce jacket. Black looksss good on you."

"Thanks. Black looks pretty great on you too." I gesture under the table towards his skirt.

"Thanksss…" He looks down and blushes, like he wasn't expecting me to give him any compliments. Maybe he wasn't. The gang was more used to having insults hurled at them. None of them really know how to respond to compliments. Snake twirls his hair again, daring a soft glance back up at me with those big eyes. Ace was right, he is rather shy. So cute. I open my mouth to say something, but a waitress comes to our table and interrupts me.

"Oh, is this the date you were waiting on?" she asks in an airy voice.

"Yesss," Snake simply states.

"Aww, you didn't have to wait for me, you could've ordered something."

"It'sss okay, I wanted to wait."

"Well, can I start you two off with something to drink?"

"Oh shoot, I didn't even _think_ about the menu." I chuckle a bit, quickly picking up the menu and trying to find the beverage section. "Uuuhhh, I'm definitely gonna need a few minutes."

"That's alright." She smiles warmly, then turns to Snake. "You?"

"Uhh, can I hasss the strawberry milkshake pleassse?" He turns to me. "Wait, do youss mind me ordering sssomething now?"

"Nah go ahead, you've waited on me long enough." I lean back in my chair a bit.

"So a strawberry milkshake for you?"

"Yesss pleassse."

"Alright then, coming right up!" The bubbly waitress heads back towards the kitchen.

"Crap, where even is the drinks section?"

"It'sss on the back."

"Of course it is. Thanks." I flip to the back, yep, there it is. I peer at the menu for a few seconds, then look back up at Snake. He's studying his own menu, searching for something to eat, that tongue flickering out in that mesmerizing way, those ruby-red eyes skimming the page. It's hard to focus on the menu with this beautiful creature sitting across from me. Suddenly, he makes a face and hisses a bit.

"Something wrong?"

"They don't have mozzarella sssticksss."

"What?! Those bastards!"

He giggles a bit. "Shame, I wasss looking forward to that."

"I'm suing!" I joke.

"Pleassse don't."

"Here's your milkshake!" The waitress suddenly comes back with Snake's milkshake. _Holy shit_ it's _HUGE_! Snake's eyes widen in awe at the size of the thing.

"Oh my god. There'sss no way I'm gonna be able to finish thisss all by myssself."

The waitress giggles. "Maybe you could share it with your date? I've got an extra straw."

Snake immediately gets red-faced. I chuckle nervously.

"Haha, well I was just gonna get a root beer, but if you really need help finishing that…" I look to Snake for approval.

"Well… I guesss it'll sssave usss money." He smiles a bit.

"A wise decision!" The waitress plucks a second straw into the milkshake. "Either of you know what to order yet?"

"Errr…" I glance at the menu again. The bacon cheeseburger looks good, but so do the chicken tenders."

"The chili dog looksss good," Snake says.

"Alright, and for you?" The waitress turns to me.

"I guess I'll have the bacon cheeseburger."

"Uh-huh, and do you guys want fries with that?"

"Yesss pleassse."

"Alright, coming right up!" She skips back toward the kitchen. I turn to Snake, smiling a little.

"I like her. She's really nice."

"Yeah, she'sss a lot nicccer than everyone elssse here…"

I frown. "What do you mean? Was someone giving you shit before I showed up?"

"No, but everyone keepsss giving me weird looksss…"

I open my mouth to protest, but just one look around the room shows that everyone is, indeed, shooting judgmental looks our direction. A man quickly glancing over his shoulder with hate in his eyes. A little girl staring at us as if we were aliens. A woman side-eyeing us and whispering something to her friend—the only word of which I can pick up is "Gangreen". The entry bell rings, and a young couple walks in, hand in hand, only to freeze in the doorway upon seeing us and immediately turn around and leave. I scowl. Who the hell do these people think they are?! I clear my throat and turn back to Snake.

"Are they making you uncomfortable? We can leave if you want."

"But we ssstill need to get our food."

"We can get it to go. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable on our first date." I chuckle, trying to ease Snake up a bit. He looks down as if ashamed.

"That would be great, pleassse…" he says softly.

"Okay." I look around and spot the waitress coming back from another table. "Excuse me!"

She turns to me with a surprised look. "Yes?"

"Is it alright if we get our food to-go? We gotta leave—"

"Oh. Of course!" She seems mildly disappointed at our departure, but retains her cheery disposition.

"Thank you!" I say as she walks away. Snake lowers his head.

"I'm sssorry…"

"Hey, don't be sorry." I smile at him, ghosting my hand over his. "I'm not gonna force you to stay here if you don't want to."

Snake looks up at me and smiles sadly. He looks really upset, but at least he seems appreciative. Poor boy. No one has the right to make the love of my life upset.

"Well… we may asss well have sssome of our milkshake before we go."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that, haha." I quickly take a sip of the shake. "That's pretty good."

"Isss it?" Snake asks before leaning forward for his own sip. "Mmm. Ssso good."

"Well I'm glad you enjoy it!" The waitress says, surprising both of us. Holy crap, that was fast. She sets down our food and the bill. I automatically fish the money out of my wallet; I wasn't expecting Snake to pay for the food, nor do I want him stealing it.

"Thank you so much!" I say to her, leaving a tip on the table.

"You're welcome! Come back anytime!" She gives a friendly wave goodbye and skips off to the kitchen. Snake runs out the door as I pay for our food as quickly as possible. As I meet him outside the door, Snake takes our shake from me.

"Thank you ssso much. I don't know how much longer I could've ssstood that."

"Not a problem. Where do you wanna go to eat this?"

"Doesss the park sssound okay?"

"The park sounds wonderful." We begin to make our way toward the park, but Ace stops us from the patio table.

"Hey! Where are yous two goin' so soon?"

"Snake didn't want to be there anymore so we're eating our food at the park!" I yell back at him.

"Oh." Ace seems surprised. "Well uh, we'll meet yous later!"

"Ssseeya Accce!"

It's a rather short walk to the Townsville city park. Snake sips on the milkshake the entire way there. It's a shame we had to leave the restaurant early, but at least it's a nice day out. We find a random bench and sit down on it. I place Snake's food in his lap and open my own.

"Ahhh… thisss isss much better. Nobody'sss bothering usss here—"

Snake cuts himself off as we hear an all-too familiar sound: the sound of a certain trio of little girls flying at breakneck speed towards us.

"Hold it right there, Gangreen Ga—err, Snake!" Blossom commands.

"And Light! I knew you were up to something!" Buttercup adds.

"No stealing on our watch!" Bubbles pouts.

Snake groans.

"Whoa whoa whoa girls," I begin, "for your information, I _paid_ for this food. I have the receipt right here. See?" I pull out the receipt and wave it in their faces.

"Oh yeah?" Buttercup challenges. "Then why were you two looking around and making sure there was nobody else nearby, huh?"

"Becaussse I wasss _hoping_ we'd be left alone!" Snake hisses.

"Wait, what _are_ you two doing here without the rest of the gang, anyway?" Blossom inquires.

"We'sss on a _date_ ," Snake says rather proudly, hooking his arm around mine and putting his free hand on my shoulder. My face has gotta be as red as Blossom's bow right now.

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Bubbles gushes. "You make such a cute couple!"

" _Bubbles_ ," Buttercup growls through her teeth.

"Thank you, Bubblesss," Snake says, ignoring Buttercup. He snuggles into my side a bit more. Is he just doing this so the Puffs will leave us alone or is it genuine?

"Well, alright, you're off the hook for now, but we've got our eyes on you!" Blossom says. With that, the Puffs fly away, but not before Buttercup shoots one last angry look at us over her shoulder.

" _Finally_." Snake slouches into the bench. "Can I _pleassse_ eat my food now?!"

"I think so." I chuckle. Snake immediately digs into his chili dog. I decide not to question his little display of affection and instead try to focus on my burger.

The next few minutes are spent mostly in silence as we eat our food. Snake's completely devouring his chili dog, and he snatches a few fries out of my box from time to time. He's acting like he's about starving. Hell, he probably is. It's hard finding food when you don't have any money to pay for it. I can't help but chuckle when he finishes his dog.

"What'sss ssso funny?" he asks.

"You've got chili sauce all over your face!" I laugh.

"Oh." Snake's eyes peer down at himself, and he licks it all off with a single swipe of that crazy tongue. I laugh again as Snake raises the milkshake.

"Want a sssip?" he offers.

"Sure…" I lean forward to take one of the straws, and Snake's at the other straw in an instant. Shit, our faces are _really_ close. Oh god, he's making eye contact. Fuck. He bats those long eyelashes a few times and I'm hooked. I swallow the shake and my pride. Even as he pulls away I'm still locked into his gaze. He laughs at me a bit.

"Why do you look ssso shocked?" he asks playfully. I let go of my straw.

"Well I uhhh—I just wasn't expecting you to do that."

"Isssn't that why the niccce waitresss gave usss two strawsss?" He snatches another one of my fries and winks. I have to try not to choke on my own breathlessness.

"I-I-I mean I guess, haha…"

"By the way, are youss gonna finish that?" He points to the last couple bites of my burger. I look down at it for a second or two, then quickly shove it into my mouth.

"Yesh!" I say through a full mouth.

"Good, becaussse I'm ssstealing the ressst of your friesss."

"Hey!"

He snatches my fries away from me before I can even think about stopping him. Whatever, he can have them. He stands up and throws our empty boxes in the trash. Then, he grabs my hand, pulling me off the bench.

"Wha—"

"Now come on, let'sss go!"

"Go where?"

"Anywheress!"

With that, he takes off running, dragging me along with him. This is the second time today I've been dragged into running by a green boy. Though this time, despite my lack of running ability, it's not as unpleasant. Maybe it's because Snake's closer to my height. Or maybe it's because I actually know what's going on. Or… fuck it, it's because I'm in love with him. He leads me into a more wooded area of the park, and the way the sunlight slips in between the trees makes it look like something out of a fairytale. He looks over his shoulder at me as he runs, and the sun illuminates every curve and angle of his face, rolling like waves over that beautiful hair as it sways, and bouncing off his shoulders. But then he flashes a smile that puts the sunshine to shame.

"Come on, ssslowpoke!"

"I—I'm trying!"

Even if I _was_ a good runner, I'd still be struggling to catch my breath at the stunning sight before me. His head is turned back in front of him now, but the image of Snake in the sunlight is still fresh in my mind. Suddenly, he comes to a halt, and I realize he's taken me to—a pond?

"I didn't know there was a pond in this park," I say breathlessly.

"You obviousssly haven't been in Townsssville long enough." Snake gives me a playful nudge with his elbow and crouches at the shore of the pond. I stand next to him, leaning forward a bit. He swirls his finger around in the water, a wide smile plastered across his face. I'm surprised at how much he seems to be enjoying this date. No one is ever this giddy around me. The idea of Snake actually being happy in my company makes me think that maybe I do have a chance with him after all.

But what if he's just faking it? What if he only agreed to the date out of sympathy? And that he's only pretending to have fun so that I don't feel bad? My heart immediately freefalls into my stomach. How do I know I'm not annoying the crap out of him? Everyone else always ran away from me because I was too much. Why would Snake be any different?

"What'sss wrong?"

"You seem to be having fun for someone who was forced into a date," I blurt. Snake's brows furrow.

"Forccced?"

"…Well yeah, I mean, Ace _did_ set us up." I stuff my hands in my pockets. Since I already dug myself into this hole, I may as well find out the truth.

"I wasssn't forced," Snake says rather defensively.

"But I thought you said it was last-minute—"

"I had to get _ready_ at the lassst minute. Accce wasn't _forcccing_ me into thisss date. I didn't have to go if I didn't wantss to. If anything, I thought _you_ were the forccced one." What?!

"No no, absolutely not!" My hands fly out of my pockets and up in front of me as if I were telling him to stop. "I _wanted_ to go on a date with you, I've _been_ wanting to, I mean—" crap. He wasn't supposed to know _that_ much. His eyes are wide with surprise, a red blush staining his face and his fingers hovering over his parted lips.

"Ssso… you're not jussst… doing thisss to be niccce?"

"Hell no! I thought that's what _you_ were doing!"

"That'sss not true…" Snake's expression slowly morphs from shock into sheer glee. And then, suddenly, he lunges into a hug. Holy shit. He's hugging me. The love of my life is hugging me. For a moment, all I can do is stand there stupefied at the feeling of his arms around my midsection. My face heats up as he nuzzles my neck. Cautiously, I wrap my arms around his tiny waist, keeping him close. He fits so perfectly. I think I'm gonna cry. I love him so much. I wanna kiss him so badly, but that would be creepy. I feel him tighten his embrace a bit. I had no idea he was so affectionate. I rub his back a bit, to which he responds with a soft humming noise. I gotta tell him how I feel.

"Snake?" I begin.

"Hmmm?" He turns his head and looks up at me with those eyes. Shit, I'll be lucky if I can even do this.

"…There's something I gotta tell you…"

"Oh?" He pulls away from our hug, but I keep my arms around him. "Pleassse tell." He moves his hands to my shoulders. I swallow a lump in my throat for at least the third time today.

"Well… urgh, how do I even say this… err, Ace didn't say anything about why he pulled me out of the shack last night, did he?

"Not asss far asss I know."

"Oh, oh well that talk we had might explain some of this. B-basically, Ace was pushing me to… to… well, make a move. Y-you know, do this whole da-date thing on my own. But, I-I-I got scared. I mean, it's not easy to just waltz up to your crush like 'hey I like you, wanna go out with me?' haha…" I raise one hand to prod at the back of my neck. Shit, there goes my diarrhea of the mouth again. Snake gasps softly.

"Youss… I'm your crush?" He sounds dumbfounded. I lower my head a little.

"…Yeah. It's been that way since… since I started hanging out with you guys regularly. I just… you're so amazing. I've never met anyone like you. Well, I've never met anyone like any of you guys, but you… you're special. Like… you're so… you're so slick, and sassy, and adorable, and beautiful and—you're everything I've ever wanted." I shoot him an awkward smile. Now he _really_ looks stunned. His eyes have completely rounded out, and his jaw looks like it's going to fall off his face any second now. He shakes his head a bit, his hair gently fluttering from the movement.

"I-I don't know what to sssay, I…" He struggles to catch his breath. "…That'sss the sssweetessst thing anyone'sss ever sssaid to me…" His brows curve upward as a sort of sad smile stretches across his face. "After all thessse yearsss of being outcasssted, shunned, and being called thingsss like ugly, freak, undesssirable…" His voice cracks at that last bit. He looks up at me, his eyes filled with water and something I've never seen before. His bottom lip quivers as he speaks up again.

"It feelsss amazing to finally be loved."

With that, he buries his face in my shoulder and sobs. Oh shit, I didn't mean to make him cry! I hold him in a tight embrace, gently stroking his hair.

"Hey, don't cry," I breathe, "It's gonna be okay. I've got you. Shhhh." I rock him back and forth a bit to soothe him. His shoulders shake, and his fingers dig into my jacket. I can already feel my shoulder getting wet. It seems like his tears are of happiness, so I guess I should be flattered? But I don't want him to cry anymore. I rub his back again; that seems to help, as his sobbing subsides. After a moment or two, he raises his head from my shoulder, wiping some of the tears from his reddened cheeks.

"I'm ssso sssorry, I'm sssuch a messss right now…"

"It's alright, I'm sorry for making you such a mess." I chuckle, hoping some humor will ease him a bit. My breath hitches as his fingers creep up my face. He glances at me with a soft expression, and I'm pretty sure the entire city can hear my heartbeat right now.

"And for what it'sss worth," his breath is still shaky, "I feel the sssame."

Wait what?

"I—wha—haha, that's funny. You're funny." Now it's my turn to lose my breath. Snake pouts.

"I literally jussst cried on your shoulder, and you're ssstill sssurprisssed?" I open my mouth to say yeah, I honestly am, but he presses a finger to my lips. "Shhhh. I don't want any ssself-depreciative commentsss out of you. You're ssso fun to be around. You makess me laugh, and feel sssafe. And I… I like your loud voiccce and your posssitive attitude. And how you're ssso unique. And with how youss've been treating me today, I'm convinccced that we're jussst… meant to be." Holy shit, did I just hear all that right? I resist the urge to make sure there's no gunk in my ears.

"…Now I think _I'm_ gonna cry."

"That'sss okay, my shoulder'sss open." He smiles and pats his shoulder. I sniffle. Shit, I might _actually_ cry. I brush some of his hair out of his face and tuck it behind his ear. He closes his eyes, leaning into my touch. When he opens them again, I can now recognize that new thing in his eyes—love. Can this be true? I sniffle again. Whatever did I do to deserve—

 _Rustle!_

I turn my head around to inspect the bushes behind me. "What the hell?"

"That wasss probably jussst an animal or sssomething."

"Well, whatever it is better leave us alone! We're trying to have a moment here!" Snake giggles at my outburst. I turn back to him, playing with a lock of his hair. "Now where were we, hmmm?"

"Youss may or may not have been about to cry."

"Ah, yeah, eh, I don't think I wanna do that." I chuckle. Snake smiles, but then it fades as he appears unsure.

"When you were sssaying all thossse niccce thingsss… you sssaid… youss called me beautiful…"

"Yep," I say matter-of-factly. He smiles shyly.

"No one'sss ever called me that before."

"Guess I'm the only one with taste around here." His soft, hissy laughter fills my ears once more.

"You're too sssweet." He leans his head on my shoulder. God, he's so precious. It occurs to me that my arms are still loosely around him, so I tighten my embrace.

 _Rustle rustle!_

"Damn critters," I mumble.

"That'sss an uncharacterissstic thing for animal-loving Light to sssay," Snake teases.

"Hey, I'm trying to have a moment with my boyfriend, I don't want anything ruining it."

"Oh ssso I'm your boyfriend now?" he asks with that same teasing tone.

"Well I—" my arms instinctively retract to my sides. "I assumed that, after all this, it meant we were… you know…"

"I'm jussst messssing with youss." He grabs my arms and pulls them back around him. "Now get theessse back here. Your _boyfriend_ never sssaid you could ssstop hugging him." He gives me a wink that makes me wanna melt into a puddle.

"Ahahahaha…."

 _CRACK!_

 _SNAP!_

 _THUNK!_

"Okay, what the fuck?!" I yell. Snake and I both turn around to look behind us and see what all that commotion was. There's a strange figure flopped on the ground in front of the bushes. The person lifts their head, and we see it's—

"Grubber?!"

"Oh hi." Grubber's usual raspberry noise takes on an embarrassed tone. He waves sheepishly.

"Dahhh, you okay Grubber?" Billy suddenly pops up from overtop the bushes.

"Way ta go guys," Ace scolds, climbing out of the shrubbery. "Now yous given us away!"

"Boss!" Arturo harshly whispers through clenched teeth, sliding out from under the bushes. He makes a "cut" gesture with his hand. How long have they all been there?!

"What are you guysss…" Snake trails off as it clicks in his brain. "Were you _ssspying_ on usss?!"

"Whaaaat?!" Ace laughs nervously. " _Spyin'_?! Wha— what'a yous talkin' about? We wasn't _spyin'_ on yous! Hehe, we's ain't spies, right guys?" The other three hurriedly agree. Snake glares at them, clearly not amused.

"Oh yeah sure, what else could you guys have been doing?" I huff.

"Birdwatchin'!" Ace quips. I raise one eyebrow at him.

"You? Birdwatching? Really?"

"Y-yeah, sure! Right guys?"

"Billy like pretty birds~," Billy says in a sing-song voice.

"I don't believe it for a sssecond," Snake says, his hands returning to my shoulders.

"Me neither," I agree. We both laugh for a moment.

"Ey boss," Arturo starts, "it's getting a little late. Should we go home?"

"Oh…" Snake fretfully looks up and notices the sun beginning to set, his thick brows curving upward. "How isss it thisss late already?"

"Ey ya know what they say, time flies when ya havin' fun." Ace winks at us. Snake's fingers curl into the fabric of my shirt.

"I don't want thisss to end," he says. It's so soft, almost a whisper, and it's more to me than the rest of the gang.

"Neither do I," I mumble, hugging him. "But hey, there's always tomorrow." I smile at him, and he returns it.

"I guesss you're right."

"Alright guys, let's amscray before da Powa'puffs get on our case for somethin'." Ace starts to make his way back to the shack, and the rest of us follow suit.

"It already happened to usss onccce, I really don't needss that again," Snake says.

"Wait, really?" Ace looks over his shoulder at Snake in disbelief.

"Yeah, they thought we stole the restaurant food and didn't realize we were on a date," I explain.

"Well those little Powa-pukes."

"Dude, Be quiet! They might hear us!"

"Yeah boss, you need to control that loud obnoxious voice," Arturo states bluntly.

"Ey, her voice is just as loud an' obnoxious as mine!" Ace argues.

"Yeah but I don't talk smack about the Powerpuff Girls!"

"My god, Light, you's such a goody-two-shoes, why do we's even let yous hang out with us?"

"Becaussse she'sss sssweet, that'sss why," Snake says, hugging my arm. Suddenly I'm a stuttering, flustered mess again.

"Ah-well I uh, I mean uhhh, I-I-I just—"

"Shoulda neva' asked." Ace turns his head away from us and stuffs his hands in his pockets in annoyance. We all laugh at him a bit. Suddenly, Snake shivers beside me.

"You getting' cold?"

"Jussst a little."

I immediately take off my jacket and drape it over his narrow shoulders. He perks up, surprised by the gesture. "Oh, won't youss get cold now?"

"Nah, I'll be fine," I insist. "And even if I was, you're even worse than me when it comes to getting cold, so it's better if you have it."

"Thanksss." He leans his head on my should as I slip my arm around his waist.

We stay like that the rest of the way to the shack, silently enjoying each other's company as we listen to the rest of the gang blabber on about whatever. A few occasional laughs escape our chests, as is inevitable when you're friends with these doofuses. But mostly my mind is in a whirlwind of disbelief as I process everything that happened today. I _actually_ went on a date with Snake. And he _actually_ enjoyed it. Fuck, we confessed our _feelings_ to each other! And he even said he was my _boyfriend_! Wait, holy shit, I have a boyfriend now? Does this mean I'm his girlfriend? Holy shit, I'm Snake's girlfriend. This can't be true. This is too _good_ to be true. This must be some kind of crazy dream. And now he's _actually_ cuddling up to me like this? Damn, if this really is a dream, then dream me is one lucky bastard.

"What'sss with that dopey sssmile on your faccce?" Snake teases, snapping me out of my daze.

"I'm just wondering how I managed to land the most beautiful boy in Townsville," I blurt. Snake's face turns beet red.

"Okay now you're jussst sssaying that."

Ace makes a vomiting noise. "Why did I think settin' yous two up was a good idea?"

"It's called consequences, Boss," Arturo says.

"No, I really meant that," I say to Snake, ignoring Ace and Arturo. "I didn't mean to say it so quickly but I meant every word!"

Snake smiles as he struggles to make eye contact. "Thanksss, but… I don't thinkss I'm very attractive."

"Well you know what they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder." I cup his face with one hand, and he leans into the touch.

"Okay DIS is ridiculous!" Ace blurts.

"Quit ruining the moment, Ace!"

"Yous really think he's prettier than _me_?!"

I shrug. "Sorry, dude."

"Dis is bullshit!" Ace storms into the shack and slams the door. The rest of us laugh.

"What an asssshole," Snake says.

"I know, right?" We laugh again as Snake takes my hand off his face and holds it in his own.

"Thanksss for everything today. I had an _amazing_ time."

I chuckle a bit. "Hey, not a problem. As much of an asshole Ace is being right now, he's the one we gotta thank for this."

"I don't think he'll accept our thanksss for sssomething he regretsss doing now."

We laugh once more. Then, suddenly, I feel something warm, soft, and slightly wet on my cheek. My face immediately feels like its been set on fire. Did… did he just… ?!

"D'aawwwww," Billy coos. Snake starts to head towards the door.

"Ssseeya tomorrow, Light," Snake says, raspy voice dripping with honey.

"Y-y-yeah, seeya Snake." I can feel that dopey grin plastered on my face once more. Snake opens the door to the shack, but before he goes in, he looks over his shoulder at me one last time. I don't think he realizes he still has my jacket on, but at this point I don't care if he keeps the damn thing. He smiles that beautiful, charming smile, and for a moment time stands still. I awkwardly wave at him, too stupefied by the overwhelming happiness to say anything. Snake gives a little wave back, and then he goes inside, that hair swooshing behind him as the door closes. I stand there in shock, until Arturo's slow clapping snaps me out of it.

"You sly dog," he says.

"Dahh congrats!" Billy cheers.

"Haha, thanks guys!" I high-five Grubber as I make my way home. My heart does a victory dance the entire way, happy that I finally got the green boy who ssstole my heart.


End file.
